Overt and covert aggression in work settings in relation to the subjectivewell-being of employees

Aggressive behavior was studied in workplaces having (1) predominantly male , (2) predominantly female, or (3) both male and female employees in equal or near equal frequencies. In addition to examining the occurrence of diffe rent types of aggression in these workplaces, the question of whether being a target of aggression is related to employees' subjective well-being was addressed. One hundred sixty-nine participants (mainly 30-50 years of age) employed in a wide range of organizations in the public sector completed a questionnaire measuring four types of observed and experienced aggression: direct overt, indirect manipulative, covert insinuative, and rational-appea ring aggression. Indirect manipulative and rational-appearing aggression we re perceived to be the most widely used aggression styles in the work conte xt. In the predominantly male workplaces, the men were perceived to use mor e of all types of aggression than in the predominantly female workplaces. T he women's aggression was not related to the relative number of females and males with whom they worked. Participants were divided into two groups on the basis of the extent to which they estimated themselves to be targets of workplace aggression. Those who considered themselves to be victims of wor kplace aggression suffered significantly more from psychosocial problems an d physical symptoms than those who had been victimized to a lesser extent o r not at all. The victimized group also considered the aggression they had suffered to be the reason for their psychosocial and health problems. (C) 2 001 Wiley-Liss, Inc.